Unseen War
by J. Jennings
Summary: Buffy and Faith take a trip to New York. Faith is exposed to some green ooze and strange things start happening. Crossover. Read and Review! If anyone has an idea for a better title, I'm open to suggestions.
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** I got this stuck in my head after I watched the movie. So I thought it'd be fun to do. Hope you enjoy. I do not own blah blah blah so don't even start with the legalities.

**Unseen War**  
By: J. Jennings

**Chapter 1**

**Faith**

I sat staring out the window watching the clouds swiftly rush by as we descended. Soon I could see the city below. New York. I recognized the Empire State Building in the distance. It was weird not seeing the World Trade Center anymore. Hey, I may have dropped out of school but that didn't mean that I was a complete dumbass. Dawn was excited like always when we traveled. The three of us were taking a well-earned vacation. Buffy had a relative in the city that she made arrangements to stay with. I broke the silence between us at last.

"So B, what does your aunt do for a living?"

"She's a news reporter."

"Yeah, she's the best in the city," Dawn chimed in. "She was even offered a job at the network but turned it down."

"I'm sure she had a good reason," Buffy said.

Once we landed we took a cab to where Buffy's aunt lived. It was a high-rise apartment building. Looked a little on the ritzy side. Her aunt had to be making some mad cash to afford this place. We took the elevator up to the third floor and stopped at a door marked 315. Buffy knocked and a moment later a woman in her early thirties answered.

"Buffy!" he smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"Hi. I know we're early."

"Oh no, that's okay. I already got everything set up for you. Hi Dawn, how are you?"

"Fine," she said.

I coughed, reminding them that I was there. "I'd hate to break up such a sweet reunion, but -"

"Oh sorry," Buffy apologized. "Aunt April, this is my friend Faith. Faith, I'd like you to meet my aunt, April O'Neil."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I sat outside on the fire escape smoking a cigarette while Buffy and Dawn sat talking to April about all the things that have happened in their lives.

"I know I should have been there when Joyce died, but I was doing a follow-up investigation on a toxic waste spill I did a report on a few years back, and I didn't find out until after the funeral that she had died."

"Don't worry about it, Mom knew you were always busy, I'm sure she would have understood."

"If you needed money you should have called me. You're my family, I'd do anything to help you out. Joyce was my sister after all."

"It's okay, everything was taken care of."

I groaned. All of this mushy family bonding stuff was beginning to make me nauseous. I decided to go sightseeing. I climbed down the fire escape ladder and walked along the street. Most people wouldn't dream of walking the New York streets alone at night, but I was more than capable of taking care of myself. If I could take on the forces of darkness, then a modern day mugger was nothing. I honestly had no clue where I was going, but I had always wanted to visit Times Square and Central Park, even Madison Square Garden. I passed by the local zoo and stopped when I rounded the corner. There was a large truck parked out front. Most people wouldn't think anything of it if it weren't for the fact that there were men loading large crates into the back of it that read _Caution: Live Animals_. Once the truck was loaded they drove off. I caught a brief glimpse of the license plate, which was from New Jersey. I headed back to April's apartment, there wasn't really anything I could do at that moment. Besides, they could have just been transferring the animals to another zoo. No sooner did I get back did April's phone ring. She hung up a moment later and grabbed her coat.

"I have to go to the station. There's been another robbery at the zoo and they need me to cover it. I'll be back later," she said as she headed out the door.

A short while later we were sitting in the living room watching the report. April was on location at the zoo interviewing a police detective.

"This is April O'Neil reporting live from New York City Zoo where just minutes ago another robbery has taken place. With me tonight is chief investigator Michael Williams." She turned towards the man next to her. "Detective Williams, are the police aware of what has been stolen so far?"

"Yes Ms. O'Neil. A small number of animals have gone missing in the past week. Those including a great white shark from the marine park two nights ago, along with a warthog and rhinoceros in tonight's robbery. We have reason to believe that these robberies have to do with a black market trade in exotic animals."

"Do the authorities have any leads currently?" April asked.

"Unfortunately we do not have any information at this time. We urge citizens to contact the local authorities should they have any information on these crimes."

"Thank you Detective Williams," she said as the man walked away. She turned back to the camera. "We will continue to update as the case unfolds. This is April O'Neil for Channel 3 News."

Buffy switched off the TV and sat down on the couch next to me. I was unusually quiet, at least to her. "You okay Faith?"

"I'm fine B, just got something going through my mind."

"Care to share?"

"Not really."

Oh. Okay."

I could have told her what I saw earlier, but it was April who needed to know. Plus I wanted to know where the thieves were going before I said anything, that way I can give the authorities a location. April came home and flopped down in a chair.

"That makes the third robbery this week," she said tiredly.

"Still no leads?" Dawn asked.

She shook her head. "No. But I did tell them to call me immediately if there was any new information." She stood and stretched. "I'm going to bed, I've got to leave early to do the morning report. Night guys."

"Night April," we all said.

I went to my room and changed. Fortunately April had a three-bedroom apartment, which meant I wouldn't get stuck with the couch like I normally did. I fell asleep quickly only to wake up in the middle of the night. I decided to go for another walk. I went by the zoo and found a few police cars outside on patrol in case the thieves returned.

_Nobody is **that **stupid,_ I thought. That is until I saw the same truck parked a few yards down the street. _Then again..._

I made up my mind right then to sneak a ride and see where exactly they were going and what they were up to. I walked past, acting nonchalant, and glanced over to see the driver's seat empty. I opened the back and climbed inside. There were a few small cages and large crates. Inside one of the cages was a red fox. I hid behind the crates and waited for the driver to return. A while later the truck started and drove off. Hours seemed to pass before the truck finally came to a stop. The back opened and a man grabbed the cage with the fox and took it inside. Once he was gone I got out of the truck and walked up to the building. There were large red letters on the roof that read: T.G.R.I.

I climbed the fire escape and peered through one of the windows and saw a man at a large counter looking at some containers with glowing green liquid in them. Another man was sitting at a computer going over some data. I went to another window to a room no one was in and slipped inside. I walked quietly through the building, being sure to not alert the occupants to my presence. As I neared the area I could hear the men talking.

"We are ready to begin phase two Professor Perry."

"Excellent. Let's get to the lab downstairs."

I hid around the corner as the door opened and the men came out. I followed them to a basement laboratory. Inside were cages filled with animals, mostly the ones from the zoo robberies. The professor, and middle-aged gray haired man went to a tank on the far side of the room. The triangular fin circling just above the surface was indication that it was the great white shark that went missing.

"Phase One: Processing of mutagen, is now complete," the professor said. "Prepare for Phase Two: Administration to test subjects. Bring the first specimen in." The assistant came in carrying a golden brown colored cat. The professor took the cat and scratched its head. "Well Manx, you're about to make scientific history. Let's see if you're as big a success as Ms. O'Neil's friends."

My interest piqued at the mention of the name. Could he be referring to Buffy's aunt April? And what did he mean by "friends"? The professor placed the cat in a containment area and inserted a hose through a small opening. The assistant pressed a button on a nearby terminal and the green glowing liquid flowed through the tube and into the cage with the cat. I could hear the cat growling and hissing. I didn't know what the liquid was doing to it, but I knew it wasn't anything natural.

"How long before we begin to see results Professor Perry?" the assistant asked.

"Should be a matter of hours. I've reformulated the mutagen to make it even more retroactive than the batch that was made over twenty years ago."

My curiosity had gotten the better of me. I wanted to see what these men were up to and what would happen to the cat. I found a better place to stay hidden and where I could see everything that went on. There was a deep growl from within the cage as the sides rattled with the force of being struck by its prisoner.

"Have the tranquilizers ready just in case," Professor Perry instructed. He went over to a control panel and pressed a button. The cage opened to reveal the cat. Only it was much larger than when it was earlier. It was the size of a full-grown man and stood upright. It twitched its ears and sniffed the air before taking a step towards the professor. "Hello Manx."

"Hello."

_Holy shit! It spoke!_ I couldn't believe what I was seeing or hearing. Which is kind of odd considering I've killed things that were far stranger than a giant talking cat.

The professor smiled. "Come to me my friend." He extended his hand towards his pet. "We have much to learn from each other."

Manx walked over and sniffed the professor's hand, then nuzzled it with his head like a normal cat would do. The professor took him over to a table and had him lay on top of it. Cables and monitors of all sorts were hooked up to the feline. The assistant wrote down every thing that came up.

"His brain mass is above average and steadily increasing. He's becoming smarter."

"Excellent. Let's see just how fast he learns." The professor leaned over the cat and spoke in a clear voice. "My name is Professor Jordan Perry. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand Professor," Manx said.

The professor smiled. "Wonderful!" He went over to a closet and took out a white lab coat and gave it to Manx. "Wear this."

Manx stood and put on the coat. He went over to a bookcase and pulled out a book, flipping through the pages quickly before casting it aside and taking another book and repeating the action until he had cleared the entire bookcase. "Cybernetics is an intriguing subject, I would like to do some experimentations with it if I may."

"Of course, but we do not have the proper equipment for you to work with unfortunately. But perhaps a... pick-up can be arranged." The professor looked to his assistant. "Stockman, I want you to go back to New York later this week and pick up some computer and electronic supplies. We're going to see just how far Manx's potential really goes."

I decided I had seen enough right then. I left the building and headed to the highway to hitch a ride back to New York. It was almost sunrise by the time I got back to April's apartment. I crawled into bed and crashed the moment my head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I woke up late the next morning. Buffy was in the kitchen preparing lunch when I walked in.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty. Rough night?" she teased.

I glared at her, saying nothing to entice her. I went in to the living room to watch the news. April was reporting on the robbery that occurred last night, which included the theft of the red fox I had seen in the truck. My conscience was screaming at me to tell her what I knew, but I wanted to know exactly what the professor was doing with that ooze and why he was creating monsters with it. I went back to the kitchen and got a plate of mac and cheese. I sat at the counter picking at my food, not really sure if I was hungry right then. Finally I pushed the plate away and went to the bedroom to change. I was craving an authentic New York hot dog so I took a cab to Central Park and found a hot dog vendor. I honestly have to say, New York hot dogs kick ass. I spent most of the day wandering around the city sightseeing. This place was _so_ much different than Sunnydale. My attention turned to a man leaving a computer shop with boxes of merchandise. I recognized him as the professor's assistant. I hurried after him as he got into a moving van and drove away. I jumped onto the back and lifted the door far enough for me to slip inside. There were boxes of various electronic equipment, no doubt for Manx's cybernetic experiments. I quickly jumped out when the truck came to a stop at the laboratory. The assistant carried the boxes inside and I slipped in through an upstairs window. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw what the professor had been doing since last night. There were more mutated animals roaming about the room. A warthog, rhino, and crocodile. The shark was even walking around like a human with a long powerful finned tail dragging behind him.

"My God... It's an army," I muttered.

The animals were dressed in clothing just like a human. The rhino wore camo pants and a black tank top with combat boots. The warthog had on jeans with holes in the knees and a sleeveless shirt and black biker boots. The crocodile was wearing an unbuttoned flannel shirt with khaki pants and boots. The shark wore nothing. Manx came out of a room wearing his white lab coat. He carried a clipboard with him as he approached each animal one by one. He went up to the rhino first.

"You will be called Rocksteady," he said and handed him a set of military dog tags. He walked up to the warthog. "Bebop." He handed him his tags before going to the crocodile. "Leatherhead." He last approached the shark. "Armaggon."

"Excellent Manx!" the professor exclaimed happily. "There is one more mutant being prepped. He should be done shortly."

There was a growl from a containment room and the door flew off the hinges. Out walked a giant turtle with large sharp claws and teeth and spikes protruding from the back of his shell.

Manx smiled. "Ah yes of course, Slash." He walked over and handed him his ID tags. "Does this conclude the research Professor?"

"No. There is one final experiment I wish to conduct. However, I will need a human volunteer."

I moved slightly and must have disturbed something. Manx's ears perked up and he sniffed the air. "We are not alone. Rocksteady! Bebop! Take the east corridor. Leatherhead and Slash you take the west. Bring the intruder to me unharmed."

The four of them spread out to search. I quickly made my way down the hall, headed back to the window I came through when I was ambushed by the rhino and warthog. The rhino took a swing and missed. I countered with a kick to his chest, which was like trying to kick down a brick wall. The warthog then took a swing at me. I ducked and he hit the rhino in the snout. The two of them began to fight amongst themselves, which was my cue to leave. I ran down the hall, and just as I turned the corner I felt something hit me in the chest like a Mack truck. I flew back and slammed into the wall, stunned. The crocodile and turtle approached me. I was too dazed to fight back as they grabbed me and dragged me back to the lab. I was thrown onto a steel table and strapped down. The professor came over and looked down at me.

"I'm not sure about this. I was hoping for a voluntary subject."

"She may have seen too much as it is," Manx said. "Besides, anyone you approach would think you were mad. She already knows what we are doing is a scientific possibility."

"It just feels wrong to force this upon her Manx."

"If we don't do this then she'll run to the authorities. We'll be destroyed or experimented on, and you'll be locked away in prison or an asylum. There is no other alternative. We make her one of us, and she'll have nowhere to go."

The professor considered this and gave the green light for them to continue. "Bring me the animal." Manx left and returned with the red fox in his arms. The professor plucked a few hairs from the fox and placed them on my body. He then got a container of the ooze and opened it. "Forgive me. I never had any intention of this happening to you. I can only hope you won't feel any pain." He poured the liquid over me and stepped back.

Almost instantly I felt a tingle run through my body, followed by a burning sensation. I cried out and struggled against the restraints that were holding me. I broke free and made for the nearest exit, which was a window. As I leaped through the glass I heard Manx shouting to his comrades.

"Let her go. She'll be back."

I landed on the pavement and ran to find a water hose. I had to get this stuff off of me before it did any major damage. It may have had an entirely different effect on a human versus an animal. I found an outside faucet and washed the ooze off as best I could. I was still having reactions to the chemical when I had gotten back to April's. I hurried into the bathroom and showered. I scrubbed, hoping to rid my skin of the slimy feeling it had. I changed into some clean clothes, tossing the dirty ones into a corner and went to bed, feeling completely drained of energy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I woke up the next morning and headed for the bathroom to wash my face. I stumbled down the hall in a clumsy manner as though my legs weren't working properly. I turned on the light and squinted in its brightness as I made my way to the sink. I splashed my face with water and blindly reached for a towel. As I dried my face I looked up at my reflection in the mirror.

"AAAAAHHH!" I screamed.

My face was no longer that of a young woman, but rather a very large fox. I heard footsteps hurrying down the hallway. Apparently I had woken the whole household up. Buffy shouted as she whammed on the door.

"Faith! Faith, are you okay?"

I leaned against the door as she turned the knob and began to come in. "No! Don't come in!"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I sighed. I knew there was no point in trying to hide it. They were going to find out sooner or later. "Okay, you can come in. But, it's bad. Very bad." I opened the door slowly.

"Faith I've seen you when you first wake up. It's not so... HOLY SHIT!" she shouted when she saw what had happened to me.

"Oh my God..." April said in shock. "How did this happen to you?" I told how I had followed the thieves, and of how they were using the animals for some sort of experiment. "Faith, did you come in contact with any green slime?" I told her the rest of the story and how I became an involuntary test subject. "Wait, did you say Professor Perry? As in Professor Jordan Perry?" I nodded. "Dammit! I knew there was more to it than he led me to believe!"

"You know the guy that did this!" I demanded.

"I did a report years ago involving his company burying toxic waste. I had a feeling he wasn't telling me everything then," she sighed in frustration. "I need to make a call." She went over to the phone and dialed a number. "Raph? It's April, is Donnie there? Don! Listen, I have a big problem. A friend of my niece's came into contact with some of our favorite green glowing ooze, and well... you should probably have a look at her. Okay, we'll be right there." She hung up and came over to me. "Come on Faith, I'm taking you to meet some friends of mine, they'll know what to do."

"And just how the hell am I supposed to go out looking like this?"

I was fitted with a disguise that consisted of a trench coat, loose jogging pants, and a scarf to conceal my snout and ears. I tucked my long bushy tail down my pants leg as best I could and headed out the door with April. She stopped at the sidewalk and took a look around before opening a manhole. I asked her if she was out of her mind when she told me to get in. She explained that this was the best way for me to travel in order to avoid drawing attention to myself. I climbed down the ladder and found myself right below the street in a corridor used to service water pipes and electric wiring. April walked ahead of me like she knew exactly where she was going. We stopped after a few minutes and she said that I would have to be blindfolded the rest of the way. I of course argued, but complied. She led me by the hand until we reached our destination. I was helped down a ladder by someone.

"There you go," they said. "Is this her April?"

"Yes. Can you help her Don?"

"I'll need to run some tests and see if I can come up with an antidote to get her back to normal, but it will take some time."

"Okay hold on. Who the hell are you, and where the hell am I?" I demanded, still blindfolded.

"I'm going to take this off Faith, but don't be alarmed, these are my friends and they'll help you." she removed the blindfold.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision and adjust my eyes to the dim light of my surroundings. I jumped back into my fighting stance when I saw a giant turtle standing before me.

"Whoa! Take a chill pill lady!"

"Faith, this is Donatello, one of my friends," April said.

"How many friends like this do you have?"

"Well there's me, my three brothers and our sensei," Donatello said. "Come on out guys and say hello!"

Three more turtles appeared and joined Donatello. "Whoa, what a fox!" a turtle with an orange mask said.

"Easy Mike, she may bite," the one wearing a red mask said.

"Will you guys knock it off!" the turtle in blue ordered. He stepped forward and extended his hand. "I'm Leonardo. These nut jobs are my brothers Michelangelo and Raphael."

I looked him over before taking his hand and shaking it. "I'm Faith."

"Give the lady room to speak my sons," an elderly voice called. The turtles parted and in walked a rat on a cane. "There is much we need to discuss."


End file.
